Businesses and individuals who have made significant contributions to progress trade and investment between Australia and India were recognised with the Australia India Business Council Trade and Investment Awards recently.
The inaugural awards were part of the Engaging with India Forum, held by the Australia India Business Council and the Australian Financial Review in Sydney this week.
The Forum took stock of the state of affairs in the Australia-India business sphere. The message came out loud and clear: Australian business needs a nudge along in its engagement with India.
But fortunately, interest remains high.
Attendees heard from a variety of high-profile speakers such as Navdeep Suri (High Commissioner to India), Vanlalvawna, Hon. Steve Ciobo, Hon Ted Bailllieu, Hon Stuart Ayres, Hon Andrew Robb, Ashok Jacob, Lindsay Fox, Neville Roach, Pawan Luthra, Â Michael Kasprowicz, Dilip Chenoy and many more.
Top honours at the Awards evening were given to Infosys and Deakin University for their outstanding contributions in each country.
Deakin University, which received the Outstanding Contribution by an Australian Organisation in India, was the first international university to open an office in India in 1996 and in that time has invested $10 million dollars, produced thousands of job-ready graduates and established numerous partnerships between academia and industry
Technology consulting firm Infosys which took out the award for Outstanding Contribution by an Indian Organisation in Australia, established its Australian presence in 1999 and draws 40 per cent of its 3100 strong workforce from the local community.
Dipen Rughani, AIBC National Chair, was pleased to inaugurate these special awards created to acknowledge the exceptional contributions of companies in advancing the Australia India relationship.
Neville Roach AO received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Over an illustrious career spanning many decades, Neville has been honoured by both the Australian and Indian governments for his dedication and commitment to fostering bilateral relations.
Penelope Street, founder of Narrowcaster received the Women in Business Award. Narrowcaster produces multilingual self-guided audio tours for forts, palaces and temples in India, helping visitors experience the country’s rich cultural heritage. Sheba Nandkeolyar, AIBC National Vice-Chair & Chair of Women in Business, was proud to spearhead the first award acknowledging the contribution of successful business women in the Australia-India business environment.
Cricket Australia received the Special Recognition Award for contribution to Australia India Relations for collaboration with its Indian counterparts in bringing the competition to millions of Indian fans.
Businesses were also recognised in categories including excellence in goods, services and investment sectors.
Cochlear won the Excellence in Goods Export for an Australian Company to India Award. The company has invested more than $US10 million in India since beginning its operations and through innovation has made hearing implants more affordable and accessible to a greater number of people in India.
Tata Global Beverages (TGB) won the Excellence in Goods Export for an Indian Organisation to Australia. TGB has been bringing unique Indian tea to Australian consumers since 1963 under the well-known Tetley brand.
SMEC was awarded Excellence in the Services Sector for an Australian company in India. SMEC has delivered projects to clients in India within transport, hydropower and energy, water and environment and urban and social sectors since 1975.
Excellence in the Services Sector for an Indian Organisation in India was awarded to SP Jain School of Global Management which uses innovative practices to delivers its education services across campuses in Sydney, Dubai, Mumbai and Singapore.
Logistics company Linfox was awarded Excellence in Investment by an Australian Organisation in India. The company provides modern supply chain logistics in India and employs 2500 people.
High-tech aircraft manufacturer Mahindra Aerospace was awarded Excellence in Investment by an Indian Organisation in Australia. The company has been operating in Australia since 2010 and serves customers from 30 countries around the world from its Australian base.
The George Institute for Global Health won the award for Excellence in Research and Development between Australia and India for its research and advocacy work to develop affordable and scalable solutions to empower people to improve their health and has been operating in India since 2007.
The independent judging panel included highly respected business leaders Kumar Parakala, Dilip Chenoy, Nik Senapati and was chaired by Grame Barty of Austrade.